


Caught in the Middle

by fallentale



Category: Night In The Woods (Video Game)
Genre: Gay, M/M, Mae borowski - Freeform, Night in the Woods - Freeform, Nitw, also the Gays are here, angus delaney - Freeform, bea santello - Freeform, greggory lee - Freeform, this is kinda based off of a real thing????
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-05-06 00:54:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14630640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallentale/pseuds/fallentale
Summary: A collection of memories, some old, some new. Some are too horrifying to even whisper, others are easy to shout.In the end, we're just falling down into the jaws of the beast.





	Caught in the Middle

**Author's Note:**

> Hello guys, gals, and nonbinary pals! I've been meaning to write something NITW-related for a loooong time, and I finally found the creativity to write it.  
> Here's the thing with this fic (if you've read my "Shades of Pink and Blue" stuff, then you're probably going to be familiar with this setup); anyways, this fic isn't on-going. If I get the urge to write something, I'll post it on here. This is pretty much a collection of memories I have with my friends, so it's going to be random. Don't expect a ton of updates in the future.  
> Anyways, I'm dedicating this fic to my best pals Jack, Zach, Izze, and Joe. This fic was actually inspired by the stuff we did last November. We're practically the NITW gang, so I knew I had to write something about us and them.   
> There's also a music suggestion later on, so be sure to give it a listen!  
> Well, that's all I've got. As always, kudos, comments, and bookmarks are deeply appreciated. Enjoy!

“Okay, hold still for a second.”

Mae stood on top of the small concrete wall, her left foot pointed out in front of her. Her blank face twitched as she stared out into the distance.

Bea and Angus watched from the side as Gregg fiddled with the phone. Bea took a drag of her cigarette and blew out a thin cloud of smoke. Angus chuckled to himself as he watched his boyfriend wrestle with phone.

“Hold on a second, dude,” said Gregg. He squinted at the screen, his finger quivering. “These phones suck.”

“Hurry up,” muttered Mae as she struggled to keep her pose. She hopped slightly on the foot she stood on, keeping her balance.

Gregg snapped the picture on the phone. He laughed as he waved his hand. He held out the phone to Mae. “Sorry, my hand was shaking.”

Mae released her pose and let out a sigh of relief. She took her phone back and stuffed it into the pocket of her jeans. “Thanks.” She looked around the trail, the cool wind blowing past her. “You guys wanna take anything else?”

Angus drew Gregg closer to hi. He fished out his phone and handed it to Bea, nodding his head towards the street lamp by the wall. “Would you take a picture of us over there, Bea?”

Bea stuck her cigarette back into her mouth as she took the phone. “Yeah, I got it.”

Hand-in-hand, Angus and Gregg walked into the pool of light. They giggled and wrapped their arms around each others waists.

“Okay, what should we do?” asked Gregg, grinning.

Bea stepped closer to the lamp, aiming the phone at the couple. “Uh, I don't know.”

Mae gasped and jumped off of the wall. “Gay! Something so friggin’ gay!”

Bea’s eyes twinkled with creativity. “Yeah, you guys should kiss. That would be cute.”

Gregg and Angus exchanged jovial smiles. They nodded their heads and leaned in close.

Mae trotted up to Bea’s side. She watched Bea point the camera, focused and in the moment.

Gregg placed his lips onto Angus’, blush filling his cheeks. The two held in their laughter as Bea closed in on them.

“Guys, hold still,” she uttered.

The couple remained dormant, closing their eyes and kissing one another. Bea took the picture and stepped back. She glanced down at the screen and checked the photo.

“Okay, it looks good,” she said, giving the phone back to Angus.

The lovebirds laughed as they departed from their kiss. Angus took his phone and twirled it around his fingers.  “Thanks, Bea."

“Yeah, no problem,” she said, tapping the cigarette ash to the ground. “Anything else?”

“I think we got all the ones we wanted,” said Gregg. He stared at Mae. “You want another photo, Mae?”

Mae shook her head. “Nah, I’m good.” She patted her stomach. “Besides, the baby is hungry.”

“Baby?” repeated Bea with a small smile.

“Yeah, I’m the baby,” said Mae. She swung back and forth as she smacked her hands on her stomach like a drum. “And this baby needs some food.”

“Alright, let’s get something to eat then,” said Gregg. He walked towards the tunnel ahead. “Tacos?”

“Oh,  _ hell  _ yeah!” exclaimed Mae. She darted towards Gregg, waving her arms around. “I wanna eat a thousand tacos, muchachos.”

“That’s the mood!” cheered Gregg. He knelt down on the sidewalk and patted his back. “Hop on, buddy.”

Mae’s laughter rang throughout the cavernous tunnel as she hopped onto Gregg’s back. He hoisted her up and ran towards the end.

“The second we get out, I’m gonna drop you,” teased Gregg in between breaths.

“Oh, God, please don’t,” squealed Mae as she held onto Gregg’s neck tight. “You would definitely do something like that.”

Gregg snorted. “Wow, thanks for having so much faith in me, Mae.”

As the two friends charged through the tunnel, Angus and Bea watched with smiles on their faces. Angus chuckled and strolled down to catch up with him. Bea blew out a circle of smoke and followed after.

But before she left the night-covered gulch, a loud, abnormal rustle from the trees reached her ears. She stopped and slowly turned around, glaring at the darkness.

The outlines of the young oak trees didn’t budge. They just stood there, watching Bea with their hidden eyes. They swayed in the cool breeze, a few of their auburn leaves detaching themselves from the branches.

Bea grunted in response and turned her back on the trees. She walked down the tunnel, squeezing her cigarette in between her fingers. "I'm just hearing things."

As a final word of departure, the trees spoke...or at least she  _ thought  _ it were the trees.

_ “You disrupted it all.” _

* * *

 

Mae tumbled out of the car, her eyes glued to the restaurant. She slapped her stomach as she jumped back to her feet.

“The baby is  _ so  _ hungry, guys,” she said. “If the baby doesn’t get tacos in about two seconds, she will combust.”

Bea hopped out of the driver’s seat and joined Mae’s side. “Don’t worry, we’ll get the baby food.”

As Gregg and Angus exited car, Bea locked the doors. Gregg fished out his wallet and faced the neon sign of the restaurant.

“Get ready for the best tacos of your lives, my friends,” he said, chucking his wallet back and forth between his hands.

Angus walked towards the window and peered inside. He frowned anxiously as he saw a sea of customers filling up the space inside. All of the seats were occupied by noisy families, starstruck couples, and fractious teenagers. Waiters rushed around, carrying mountains of plates. Even from the outside, he could hear the stereos blaring an annoying, new pop song.

Angus took a step back from the window and shook his head. “Guys, it looks too crowded. I don’t think we’d get a seat.”

Before Gregg opened the door, he stopped and hurried over to the window. His jaw dropped. He made a disgusted sound and threw his hands up. “Man, I wanted tacos!”

“Capitalism did this,” grumbled Mae. "Capitalism hates the baby."

“Yeah, eff capitalism!” snarled Gregg. He pushed away from the window and shrugged. “What now guys?” He jutted his thumb at Mae. “We gotta feed the baby.”

“Oof, yeah,” smiled Mae, amused by the on-going joke. “Gotta feed the little baby.”

Bea’s cigarette burnt out. She dug it into the ashtray by the trash can. She threw it on and headed back to the car. “We’ll just go to the Clik-Clak.”

“Mmm, diner pizza,” said Mae, yonderly. “Pizzaz, pie-zazz, pepperoni zazz…”

Gregg’s smile returned. “Yeah, alright. That works with me.”

* * *

 

Mae shoved the last piece of crust into her mouth. She bopped her head along to the upbeat, quiet tune that sang in the diner. She leaned back in her seat, swinging her legs underneath the table.

“Good pepperoni circular object,” she grinned.

Bea snickered as she finished the last of her slice. “Yeah, that was pretty good.”

Angus swirled his straw around in his water, the ice cubes floating around. “There was a perfect balance of cheese and pepperoni, so it’s good in my books.” He looked at his boyfriend. “What about you, hon?”

Gregg nodded his head as he played with the crumbs on his plate. “Clik-Clak pizza always delivers in my opinion.”

Mae drank the last drop of her soda as she blindly searched her pockets for her money. She pulled out a $20 bill and sat it by her plate. “This was fun, guys. I’m glad we did this.”

Gregg joyfully nodded his head as he wiped his hands with his napkin. “Yeah, this was an awesome night!” He shot everyone a toothy grin. “But we’re not done yet.”

Bea and Mae exchanged glances of surprise. “What else do you got for us, Gregg?” questioned Bea.

“We’re gonna watch some movies!” declared Gregg, wiggling his hands around. “I don’t know  _ what,  _ but we’re gonna watch ‘em.”

Mae grinned. “I’m down for that.”

“What about you, Bea?” asked Angus, “or do you have work tomorrow?”

“Nah, I’ve got the day off,” replied Bea. She smirked. “But yeah, I’ll stick around.” She nudged Mae. “Besides, I’ve got to take this one home. I can’t leave her.”

“I’m _still_ gay and I  _ still  _ can’t drive!” proclaimed Mae, proudly.

The waiter approached the table and sat down four receipts. She briskly cleaned the table free of plates and hurried away. The four withdrew the rest of their money and paired it with their receipts, leaving some cash as a tip. They slowly pushed themselves out of their seats and walked towards the cashier. They quickly paid for their meals and thanked the servers. They wandered back out into the autumn air, the constellations above their heads twinkling through the dark blanket of the sky.

Angus looked up and smiled. “It’s beautiful.”   


Gregg held his boyfriend’s hand and blushed. “Not as beautiful as you, hon.”

Angus giggled. “Thanks, hon.”

“Gay!” yelled Mae from behind.

Gregg laughed and winked. "Damn right!"

Bea laughed as she unlocked her car. Mae, Gregg, and Angus threw themselves in, chattering amongst one another.

Bea reached for the handle of the door, but felt a shiver crawl up her spine. Her hands were clammy against the metal of her aging car.

_ “You are leaving this town to rot.” _

Bea froze and whipped around. She clenched her fists, seeking for the owner of the deadly voice.

She  _knew_ it wasn't just her mind. That sounded too real, too familiar.

Too  _terrifying._

“Bea?” called Mae’s voice from the car.

Bea looked at her friend, a bit spooked. “Yeah, I’m...I’m coming.”

Mae tilted her head through the open window, worried. “You okay?”

Bea nodded her head. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Mae frowned. “That doesn’t look like the face of someone who’s fine.”

Bea slumped and opened the door. She pulled herself in and started the car. Mae poked her head in between the front seats, pouting.

“Beebee,” she grumbled, elongating the nickname. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

Angus perked his head up as Bea shifted in her seat. “Everything okay?”

Bea closed the door and crossed her arms. “You guys wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

Gregg snorted. “Yeah, we're not gonna believe a _single_ word Bea Santello says, even though she's the most reasonable out of all of us.”

“But, this...this is weird,” countered Bea.

“Just tell us, Bea,” encouraged Mae. She shook her friend back and forth. “Come on, tell us.”

Bea snickered and rose her hands up in defense. “Alright, alright.” Her enthusiasm immediately died out. “I’m pretty sure someone keeps talking to me in my mind or something.”

Angus rose his eyebrows. “Like how?”

“I-I don’t know, that’s the thing,” responded Bea, somewhat flustered. “Ever since we left the trail, something keeps talking to me...keeps saying all of these cryptic messages.”

“What kind of messages?” questioned Mae, disturbed.

“Last thing I heard was ‘You’re leaving this town to rot,’” answered Bea. “But back at the trail, it said, ‘You disrupted it all.’”

Gregg sunk into the car seat, uncomfortable. “Uh, that’s odd.”

“Yeah,  _ really  _ odd,” chimed in Angus. “Why didn’t you tell us this before?”

“I thought it was just my mind playing tricks with me or something,” said Bea. “I didn’t really think much of it.”

“Anyone else thinking about that stuff that happened last year?” asked Mae, looking at all of her friends, "or is that just me? It sounds like something related to that."

The car fell silent. Gregg blinked in bafflement while Mae and Angus stared out through the windshield.

Mae waved her arm around in disappointment. “Come on, guys. We can at  _ least  _ talk about it.”

“Dude, that was scary,” piped up Gregg. “You almost  _ died.” _

“Gregg, we  _ all  _ almost died,” said Bea, grudgingly.  _ “Especially  _ Mae.”

“Okay, but I’m just making a connection,” said Mae. “Seriously though, wouldn’t that make sense? I remember hearing voices and stuff before, and Bea’s hearing them now.”

Bea casually pulled out of the empty parking lot and drove out onto the road. “I don’t know. I’m just gonna ignore it.”

Mae sat back in her seat. “Okay, but tell us if it happens again.”

Bea glanced at Mae through the rear-view mirror, noticing the growing terror in her eyes. “Okay...I will.”

* * *

_[(Play music now.)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGeNI-z67V4&list=PLRtkK6TD_2LIEXgIuMYZT9TvpVhkLdUyk&index=90) _

Bea parked the car on the side. She pulled her key out and looked at the road. With no signs of any cars, she stepped out and closed the door. She stepped onto the sidewalk as she watched her friends pile out of her car.

Mae shut the door, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Bea, I still can’t believe you heard a voice.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty weird, dude,” joined in Gregg. “Why  _ you?” _

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” answered Bea. She locked her car and looked up at the sky. “We were _all_ involved with that shit from before, meaning that you guys should've heard it, too. I mean, all of that wouldn’t happen again...right?”

“I wish I knew,” replied Angus. He gazed at the stars, placid. “We have no way of knowing.”

“But, like, that whole magic stuff fell down with mine,” said Bea, puzzled, "but it's somehow talking to  _me._ It's gotta be that."

“Just because it’s down there with the mine doesn’t mean it’s dead,” spoke Mae, fear rising in her voice. She shivered. “I’m getting creeped out about this, guys. Let’s just get inside.”

“Good idea,” agreed Angus. He walked towards the apartment complex’s door, Bea, Gregg, and Mae right behind him.

_ “It is hungry...now more than ever.” _

The four stopped in their tracks. They all looked at each other, terrified.

“Did you...did you guys hear that?” asked Gregg, wildly searching around.

“That's the damn voice that’s been talking to me all night,” said Bea, darkly.

“Holy shit, it just talked to  _ all  _ of us,” said Mae, horrified. "You were right, Bea."

Bea looked across the road, two of the street lamps flickering. She muttered a curse under her breath as she neared the edge of the sidewalk. Mae and Gregg walked towards Bea's sides. Angus pulled out his apartment keys, wielding them like a protective dagger.

Mae cupped her hands around her eyes, scanning the other sidewalk. “You guys see anything?”

“Nothing yet,” said Gregg. He unzipped his leather jacket and gingerly removed his pocket knife. “But I’m not gonna let this bull crap happen again. Even if it is some pranksters or whatever."

_ “Do you really want your town to fall into nothingness?” _

Gregg jumped, shocked. "Yeah...those aren't pranksters."

Angus held him close, fighting off his fear. "I think we've made that consensus ever since Bea started hearing it."

Bea glowered. “Just come out, you sick freak.”

“Yeah, eff you!” shouted Mae, punching at the air.

"Yeah...eff you," mimicked Gregg, nervous.

“I’m down for kicking a ghost’s butt,” grinned Mae mischievously. Her smile dropped. “We did it before.”

Bea watched the right street lamp, her eyes wide with horror. “I don’t think it's a ghost this time.”

Everyone’s heads turned towards the street lamp. It sputtered on and off, the moths around it flying away. Below, a pair of white eyes formed out of thin air.

Gregg grit his teeth in panic. "You guys seeing that?"

"What the hell is that thing?" asked Mae.

_ “It is hungry…” _

Black claws reached out from the dark mass, flexing its fingers. It caressed its long, pointed horns.

Bea anchored herself to the concrete. "It better not come over here."

“I  _ am hungry.” _

The four huddled close, their hands quaking from fright. Mae locked eyes with the phantom, a wave of familiarity washing over her.

“No way…” she said, quietly. "That can't be it."

“If it takes another step closer, I'm...I'm gonna throw this at it,” threatened Gregg, pointing his knife at the shadow.

The shadow, its eyes sparkling a brilliant white, stared right at Mae, Bea, Angus, and Gregg. Its wispy body fluttered in the wind. It stared at the other street lamp. Right on cue, the light died out, swallowing the sidewalk in completely darkness. The ghostly figure looked back at the group, and then at the stars.

_ “You will not forget what has happened to this town before.” _

It turned around and faded in the darkness, leaving no traces behind.

Mae looked at the spot where it once was, releasing the breath she realized she hadn’t been holding. “Uh, I just got some dejavu.”

“Me, too,” muttered Gregg, unable to pry his eyes from the spot.

“Was...was that the same guy back in the mine?” asked Angus, idly interlocking his fingers with Gregg’s.

“I don’t think so,” whispered Mae, distantly. "Maybe it's that...that god those cultists worshiped."

Gregg inhaled sharply. "Oh, God, you can't be serious."

Bea frowned darkly, grabbing her cigarette carton and lighter. She plucked one out of the case and ignited it. She jammed it into her mouth and inhaled deeply. She sighed, grey, hazy smoke rising out of her nostrils. “I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Angus winced. “God, I hope that stuff doesn’t happen again.”

“I thought it died, though,” mumbled Gregg. “There’s  _ no  _ way that could be it.”

“I don't think you can kill a god like that,” explained Bea. “Probably wasn't _actually_ the thing, thought. Probably an illusion...probably."

Gregg gnawed at the bottom of his lip as he turned towards the door, squeezing Angus’ hand tight. “Well, let’s not worry about it anymore.” He managed a smile. “We’ve got some movies to watch, so let’s get on in.”

Bea sighed and nodded her head. “Alright, but that’s gonna bug me for a while.”

Mae continued to stand on the sidewalk, scrutinizing the spot where the shadow stood. She took in a shaky breath, biting at the inside of her cheek.

Possum Springs was getting weirder and weirder every year, wasn’t it?

This poor, little town wasn't so boring anymore.

“Mae, you coming?” asked Bea from behind.

Mae, keeping her eyes on the dark sidewalk, nodded her head. She obviously walked backwards. “Yeah…”

Bea grabbed Mae’s shoulder and gently helped her up the steps. “Hey, you’re okay. That thing’s gone.” She took a quick glance at the dead street lamps. “It’s gone…”

Mae nodded her head, doubt screaming in her soul. “Yeah, yeah…

“It’s gone for good.”


End file.
